By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. Wall Street Journal
Experts now agree the virus’s spread can be slowed but not contained. It will take its place among mostly seasonal respiratory infections. After a time, recurrent outbreaks will be moderated by a large number of potential carriers who have immunity from their last infection.
And then we can ask some questions. The cost to Americans of the economic shutdown is vast. What are they getting for their money? Essentially less excess demand for respiratory ventilators and other emergency care than can currently be supplied.
This demand will come largely from the elderly and chronically ill, who would be competing for these resources with the usual large number of old and ill people already suffering from acute respiratory distress as a result of routine flu and cold infections. A silver lining will be fewer cold and flu victims overall thanks to social distancing to fight Covid-19.
Some number of respiratory deaths will be avoided (really delayed since we all die) but we’ll be spending a lot more than we’ve ever been willing to spend before to avoid flu deaths. Eighty-three percent of our economy will be suppressed to relieve pressure on the 17% represented by health care. This will have to last months, not weeks, to modulate the rate at which a critical mass of 330 million get infected and acquire natural immunity. Will people put up with it once they realize they are still expected to get the virus? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pour resources into isolating the vulnerable rather than isolating everyone? Basically aren’t we really just praying that summer will naturally suppress transmission and get us off the hook of an untenable policy?
But then multiple experiments are under way. China seems to have quashed the spread beyond Hubei province and spared 99.9% of its population from infection—for now. Can China really hold off the virus from being reintroduced or re-exploding during the 18 months it may take for a vaccine to be invented and distributed?
Italy is the test case for being a day late and dollar short in voluntary social distancing—the steps people can take to reduce their risk of contracting and spreading the disease. But Italy may also be the first to emerge from the tunnel, with everyone having had their chance to get sick, and the country being able to get back to work.
Britain is wavering on what seemed a modified, limited Italian strategy. Until Tuesday, it was considering letting its health-care sector absorb as much stress as necessary to avoid a sweeping, draconian shutdown of the economy.
The U.S. may or may not be a test case of a large continental country where hot spots of contagion shock other places into buttoning up and hunkering down, curbing excess local demand for intensive-care beds. But the cost will be astronomical. Essentially we are killing other sectors indefinitely to manage the load on the health-care sector.
Understandably, politicians believe faith in government requires avoiding Italy-like scenes. But turned on its head here is the 50-year-old “QALY” revolution: the idea of measuring the burden of disease and benefit of health care based on “quality-adjusted life year,” typically valued at $50,000 to $150,000. In the present instance, the cost isn’t just medical intervention (e.g., ventilator use) but the cost of an economywide shutdown to limit the number of candidates for ventilation at any one time. I don’t know what the figure is, but the QALY value we are placing on avoiding Italy-like deaths is surely a high multiple of any figure previously considered realistic.
America’s shutdown strategy is interesting because it was not a choice that any one person or authority made. You can’t blame the NBA or Tom Hanks or Congress. Donald Trump is being pilloried for leaning against panic, urging comparisons to the flu, suggesting the stock market is overreacting. Like the bus, another reason to pillory Mr. Trump will come along in five minutes and not one of his critics will engage in soul-searching over whether he might have had a point.
Even the fuss over testing is a bit overdone. Nowhere in the world has there been enough testing to detect most coronavirus cases amid millions of seasonal colds and flu cases. This problem exists in China, Europe and the U.S. A British estimate is that 12 people have the virus for every one found by testing. In any case, testing becomes a tad mootish now if the goal is to isolate even young and healthy people.
There’s a vast gap between people washing their hands, avoiding crowds, shielding the old and using good judgment, and sweeping lockdowns and curfews. Anything government spends now will be a good investment if it prepares the economy quickly to resume its growth and healthy functioning. But there are known unknowns. Elections will be held. Politicians will stake out stands in response to the applause meter, not logic. If I could take out one insurance policy on behalf of the country, it would be this: Joe Biden should immediately name Amy Klobuchar as his running mate so she can step in if the success of his campaign so far is not so rejuvenating of Mr. Biden as it now seems.
@ Edgar G.:
Hi, Edgar
“she has worked out a very good system, she tells me, of disinfecting her car every time she has used it,, and her clothing goes right into the washing machine. She also disinfects every single item bought, including fruit, and the outside of packaged goods.”
It’s all that Pesach prep background. My wife if fastidious, but not to that extent. I have my own method: I stay away from people and sit around a lot. No people, no germs. Also, I don’t have to shower so much, nor change clothes — until the wife starts making comments.
Joke: A woman wants to know when the quarantine will end, so she can let her husband back in the house.
Ancient proverb (18th Century): “Fish and company smell in three days”
— Ben Franklin, “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
Glad you made it through the war. My wife’s parents were in the thick of it, in the UK. She was a nurse, he was an airman. I don’t wish war on anyone; but it happens, and we have to deal with it.
Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for New York, Defends Handling of the Crisis – Spectrum News NY1.
Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for New York, Defends Handling of the Crisis
By Debora Fougere Washington D.C. Bureau
PUBLISHED 2:12 PM ET Mar. 21, 2020
President Donald Trump gave a briefing on the coronavirus at the White House Saturday, March 21, 2020.
Here’s what was discussed:
Donald Trump confirmed that last night he approved a major disaster declaration for New York. He said he worked closely with Governor Andrew Cuomo. He called it an “unprecedented” federal response.
He said it was the first time the Stafford Act, a law designed to bring orderly emergency disaster assistance to state and local governments, has been used for a disaster declaration.
Trump said he had a “very good call” with small business owners, calling small businesses the “economic engine of this country.”
He said he is going to Capitol Hill to talk about the medical situation, and that the financial situation is “moving along nicely”.
Trump said he has been in communication with foreign countries, and said the virus is now present in 148 countries.
The president repeated that he has reached agreements with Canada and Mexico to suspend non-essential travel, while keeping trade open.
He said he has spoken with many hospital systems, organizations representing nurses and doctors, heads of airlines, cruise ship companies and businessmen who control the “biggest companies in the world.”
He said he’s had a “very significant call” with religious leaders.
He also reiterated the move of tax day to July 15th, the suspension of taxes, penalties and payments on student loans and evictions for homeowners.
Trump said again he invoked the Defense Production Act, though he is still not using it, and that companies are voluntarily retrofitting to make masks, ventilators and hand sanitizer.
He talked about signing legislation for family sick leave at no cost to employers, and that the government is working to pass additional legislation for relief for small businesses and workers, saying it had never been done before.
Testing, he said, is going “very well”.
Trump said the National Response Coordination Center has moved to “level one” and is coordinating with the nation’s governors.
Finally, he once again touted the drugs that the FDA is rushing to approve that he believes can be re-purposed as therapeutics for Coronavirus, something Dr. Anthony Fauci has downplayed. https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/03/21/president-donald-trump-coronavirus-briefing–3-21-20
Dated comment about Trump:
“Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for New York, Defends Handling of the Crisis
By Debora Fougere Washington D.C. Bureau
PUBLISHED 2:12 PM ET Mar. 21, 2020
President Donald Trump gave a briefing on the coronavirus at the White House Saturday, March 21, 2020.
Here’s what was discussed:
Donald Trump confirmed that last night he approved a major disaster declaration for New York. He said he worked closely with Governor Andrew Cuomo. He called it an “unprecedented” federal response.
He said it was the first time the Stafford Act, a law designed to bring orderly emergency disaster assistance to state and local governments, has been used for a disaster declaration.
Trump said he had a “very good call” with small business owners, calling small businesses the “economic engine of this country.”
He said he is going to Capitol Hill to talk about the medical situation, and that the financial situation is “moving along nicely”.
Trump said he has been in communication with foreign countries, and said the virus is now present in 148 countries.
The president repeated that he has reached agreements with Canada and Mexico to suspend non-essential travel, while keeping trade open.
He said he has spoken with many hospital systems, organizations representing nurses and doctors, heads of airlines, cruise ship companies and businessmen who control the “biggest companies in the world.”
He said he’s had a “very significant call” with religious leaders.
He also reiterated the move of tax day to July 15th, the suspension of taxes, penalties and payments on student loans and evictions for homeowners.
Trump said again he invoked the Defense Production Act, though he is still not using it, and that companies are voluntarily retrofitting to make masks, ventilators and hand sanitizer.
He talked about signing legislation for family sick leave at no cost to employers, and that the government is working to pass additional legislation for relief for small businesses and workers, saying it had never been done before.
Testing, he said, is going “very well”.
Trump said the National Response Coordination Center has moved to “level one” and is coordinating with the nation’s governors.
Finally, he once again touted the drugs that the FDA is rushing to approve that he believes can be re-purposed as therapeutics for Coronavirus, something Dr. Anthony Fauci has downplayed.
@ adamdalgliesh:
Yes, the movie, a long time ago; it was very absorbing, and it relates.
@ Michael S:
Well Michael, in a way, my “geezer” comment was rather flippant itself, but we seem to have exhausted this subject a dozen times over already, yet we just can’t stop, as,if it seems to be at a plateau in some areas, others are only getting up to speed. Pretty good that Adam (and others) has a talent for running-down otherwise hard-to-find articles and research results etc.
(I’ve seen that they are trying a serum made from the blood of recovered cases, like they did in 1918-19….Let it work….)
My family takes it very seriously-for themselves of course, but also very much because of me. There are now about 50+ known cases on the Island but the medical efforts are only getting under way It’s 40% larger than Israel and with a pop of only 850,000 odd. Quite a bit is very mountainous and uninhabited. A confirmed case was found right where I had my dr. appt. last week, which is why they cancelled me that same morning. Another few cases are right here in Victoria, where I live.
My daughter, who shops for me delivers items to outside my door and will NOT come in, lest she my carry some germ on her clothing -she has worked out a very good system, she tells me, of disinfecting her car every time she has used it,, and her clothing goes right into the washing machine. She also disinfects every single item bought, including fruit, and the outside of packaged goods. (delivered mail also, wearing disposable gloves).
Like being under siege, or living in an air raid shelter-so I know-in a modified way- what Israelis are going through/
(I recall very well how we sheltered under the staircase, when the Germans bombed Dublin-after I had been blown across the room, ending up at the window with the bed full of glass shards-our house was partly destroyed)
Netanyahu; I pity him that he has to abase himself to a dolt like Gantz just to try to get him to cooperate to save Israeli lives.
Such an empty brained wooden image of a useless human being……Mandelblit has a lot to answer for…
@ Edgar G.: Sometimes that turns out to be true–ever read Ken Kesey’s novel “One flew over the cockoo’s nest?”
@ adamdalgliesh:
That’s exactly—EXACTLY what the inmates of the lunatic asylums say to visitors- “They’re all crazy here-except me, I’m the only sane one” !!
@ Michael S:
Touche !!
@ Michael S:
Exactly what I said weeks ago at the beginning, that it was because it spreads so fast, that causes what some were declaring as undeserved panic-
@ adamdalgliesh:
Does it lead you to feel enough stress to cause death-I presume you’re still alive and kicking/ you’ve overstated this point in my opinion/
@ adamdalgliesh:
Here, Adam:
Only about 10 percent of cases are in people under 30, and just two percent are under 20. Meanwhile, adults 30 to 69 make up three-quarters of the cases. Part of this could be China’s demographics—nearly 60 percent of the country is between 25 and 64—but officials have been noting that adults and older folks seem far more susceptible than children. And when it comes to fatalities, the elderly are suffering the most.
Though people aged 70 and over make up just 12 percent of the cases, they account for 50 percent of the deaths. Another 30 percent of fatalities are in the next lowest age group, 60-69.
“https://www.popsci.com/story/health/covid-19-coronavirus-death-rate-by-age/”
That tells us that the “50/50 cut-off point is age 70: Half the people over 70 die from it, and half the people UNDER 70 also die. It might be more useful to look at the bell curves: The vast majority of deaths are in the 50+ group, but there is a sharp cutoff there.
Those are roughly the statistics you asked for; but please hear me out: The impact of this virus is NOT in the total number of deaths in ANY age group: It is in the fact that it is such a fast-spreading disease, it is able to destroy the health systems and paralyze the economies of continents. That is why President Trump and others are pleading with the citizens to please LISTEN to the CDC and do what they can to SLOW DOWN the spread of the virus until the health system can catch up.
Quarantining people and travel bans are not “fear mongering”, as some have said; they are plain good sense.
Iran has been hit hard with Covid-19. Syrian has closed its borders to prevent the import of the virus. However, it is allowing Iranian military personnel and commanders into Syria. The commanders in Iran have been hit by the virus because they have been traveling back and forth to China.
Now it is likely that Syria will have in a relatively short time have an out break of the CoronaVirus-2. We will see, assuming they report it. They likely will also give this gift of a virus to the Hezbollah who they interface with regularly.
It is hard being one of the very few sane ones in a world gone mad. “Humanity’s our worst disease”–John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680).
How true.
@ Michael S: Source for these statistics, Michael?All of the reports I have read give a much, much lower figure for the percentage of deaths among those who have tested positive for COVID-19. Many reports give the death rate for those under 60 who have been “detected” with coronavirus at about 2 per cent. Your statistic might be roughly accurate for the total number of those “detected” with the virus. But the overwhelming majority of those under 60 who have tested positive for it are still alive. The majority have recovered. The rest are either receiving hospital care or resting in “isolation” at home. Only a very small minority are in intensive care.
Don’t believe every rumor you hear. Do a little research before reaching conclusions.
@ Bear Klein:
Hi, Bear. Bennett said,
“Israel’s policy is to slow the spread of the virus so that Israel can try and ramp up its medical capabilities so the hospital’s will not be overwhelmed like in Italy. He does believe that eventually the virus will spread to a large amount of the population…”
That much, I agree with — in Israel, as well as in the US. (As for Europe, I think they’re beyond hope). So far, I haven’t seen evidence of people developing immunities, though of course, I am hopeful. The vaccine tests will find this out.
Edgar, concerning your “geezer” comment, it IS true that the virus is more likely to kill older people rather than younger, because their health is already under attack in many cases. Still about half the deaths are of people UNDER age 60, even down to newborns, and this percentage may be increasing. One doctor said something to the effect that young people can successfully counter the virus to a point; but it wears down their systems and leaves them more vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
I’ve heard reports that many young (under 60) people have taken a flippant attitude toward the virus; and as a result, they are speeding up the spread of it. This is certainly not helping anyone, young or old.
@ Edgar G.:
“…though you’d never know it if I didn’t tell you ***!!!****”
Well put, Edgar 🙂
@ Edgar G.:
Edgar I consider until now that Israel’s policy until now has worked as it has mitigated the number of dead and sick. Though it is very likely the numbers will rise from current levels.
Naftali Bennett has stated Israel’s policy is to slow the spread of the virus so that Israel can try and ramp up its medical capabilities so the hospital’s will not be overwhelmed like in Italy. He does believe that eventually the virus will spread to a large amount of the population and many people will develop immunity from the virus. The shut-down should only be temporary.
“Stock market news live: Stocks close at 3-year low in worst week since 2008; Trump era gains obliterated
Emily McCormick
Stocks on Friday plunged to a three-year low, closing out their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis and obliterating all of the gains made since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, as investors weighed the escalating coronavirus outbreak against vast stimulus measures designed to mitigate the crisis.
The losses, which came to more than 4% for the S&P 500 and Dow during Friday’s session alone, brought the S&P 500’s total weekly losses to 15% for its worst weekly performance since October 2008. The Dow swan-dived 17.3% on the week, with all the benchmarks settling at their lowest levels since early 2017.
Risk assets dropped even as the Trump administration unveiled a laundry list of new relief measures — including a three-month delay to the April 15 tax deadline and temporary pause on federal student loan payments — meant to backstop consumers. The Federal Reserve also stepped in with more relief, broadening out the types of assets included in its purchase program and expanding its dollar liquidity operations with other major central banks.
However, the virus’ rapid spread had led to social distancing policies that have all but brought America’s public life to a grinding halt. Amid mass closures of private businesses, soaring layoffs and school shutdowns, economists all but expect the global economy — and the world’s largest — to plunge into a deep recession in the coming quarters.” From Friday’d Yahoo Finance.
Do all you old geezers who are ENDLESSLY delving so deeply into death rates, and matching a variety of deadly diseases with the mortality in your own particular age group, get some sort of morbid pleasure from it ??
Me,,,(like the kid who always skips the hard words) I don’t even want to think about it !!
@ Bear Klein:
Beneath my gruff exterior (VERY GRUFF) I’m really a very kind person–though you’d never know it if I didn’t tell you ***!!!****
@ adamdalgliesh:
Even though there are not very many sick in this area, they are increasing, and my daughter will take NO chances with her family -and me, particularly to avoid bringing any virus back/ She shops with goggles, mask and disposable gloves —why take chances when it can be fatal-for me???
Her care shows love;–You misunderstood-I don’t feel happy about it but it must be
@ Bear Klein:
Hey Bear, I was beginning t think you had little sense of humour-I see you have plenty- !! Reminds me f the joke abut the Chinese laundry man who came to work one day very happy- When asked, he said he was the proud father of a little baby boy-but, they said you’ve been here over three years—Aha ” he replied Government do it by proxy”
Communists !!
@ adamdalgliesh:
So it can be both contagious and infectious-
@ Edgar G.:
I concur with your view of the not so big deal about the social distancing. You were very kind with your words to Adam.
In fact as part of my exercise routine I walk outside 2 or 3 times a day. This continues. When the occasion has arisen I speak with a neighbor at 2 meters or more.
Just makes it hard to pick up women now. My biggest issue now! I could die from this you know?
@ Edgar G.: Meir Panim has disgusting commercials that portray Israel in a faulty light to get money.
@ Edgar G.: Your grandkids are not in any great danger from novel coronavirus, Edgar. Few people under 21 become seriously ill from this illness.
I am happy for you that you feel comfortable with being deprived of “almost all” social contact. But I know a lot of elderly people, including myself, who are not happy with this state of affairs.
Some interesting statistics that shed light on the supposed coronavirus crisis in Italy.
* Total deaths in Italy 635,907 in 2019, up from 628, 309 in 2018, an increase of 1.22%. (From the Knoma.com web site, a very good source of information about world demographics).
* A Graph from the same site shows an increase in the annual number of deaths in Italy from about 587,000 in 2008 to the 635,000 in 2019.(Knoema).
* The annual death rate in Italy increased from 9.6 in 2008 to 10.6 in 2019 (Knoema).
* On the other hand, life expectancy from birth in Italy increased from 78.95 years in 1998 to 83.17 years in 2017. (Knoema).
*Italy has the second largest percentage of the population who are over 65 years out of a atotal of 183 nations in the world. The highest is Japan. 23% of the population of Italy is over 65. (From the worldatlas.com web site.)
* Numerous sources report that the average age of those who have died of COVID-19 in Italy (not the total of those who have got sick) is about 80 years.
My takeaway from all this: Italy this year had an exceptionally large number of people this seasonal flu season who were at just the age when they were most susceptible to being “carried off” by a seasonal infection. THat is the real reason there have been so many reported COVID-19 deaths.
But there are other reasons as well. Italy has a shortage of COVID-19 test kits. On the other hand, government medical bulletins to doctors and the general public have warned that there is a pandemic of novel coronavirus and have described the symptoms in general terms. Local physicians, who are responsible for reporting most of the alleged novel coronavirus deaths, may have simply given as the cause of death of the patient as COVID-19 because the symptoms the patient exhibited shortly before death resembled the description of COVID-19 in the government’s information bulletins to physicians. Most of these individuals may actually have died from other infectious diseases such pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza; but because of the current mindset, the attending physicians filled out the cause of death on the death certificates as COVID-19.
Many of these individuals may also have been suffering from a terminal illness, such as cancer, emphysema, or heart disease before they contracted a seasonal infection. Most of those who died were of the age when such illnesses are common. And these underlying illnesses may have been the principal cause of death for many of those who were diagnoosed with coronavirus.
My overall conclusion: Probably the exceptionally high number of alleged coronavirus fatalities in Italy is simply the result of the exceptioanally large number of people in that country who are highly susceptable to seasonal infections.
@ adamdalgliesh:
For demonstrably life-saving, deprivation of almost all-not ALL social contact, and isolation from grandkids to save their own iives is, in my opinion, a completely empty argument. Just from logic and common sense, let alone my own particular situation, I don’t even think of it.
I suppose, to you, that means I am to blame for not stressing myself out to death.
You are casting far too wide a loop.
You sound as if you grew up watching “Little House On The Praries” and BELIEVED it !!!
@ Bear Klein:
When I queried the item that elderly were unable to shop due to the stay-at -home order and depended solely on Meir Panim, I felt it was Meir Panim’s opportunity to get some new donations…basically a PR stunt- you spotted it equally fast
@ Laura:
Laura said,
“You see why I have nothing but hatred…”
I can see that.
Israel unlike Iran and Italy started clamping down on travelers from China very early and then other countries. So far the known stats are for Israel relating to the Sars- Coronavirus-2:
Israel sees first coronavirus fatality
Jerusalem hospital reports deceased is elderly man (88) who had significant underlying conditions;
Health Ministry confirms 705 infected with COVID-19 in Israel,
Most have light symptoms,
18 in moderate condition,
9 serious and
15 recovered
With more testing more will be found having contracted the virus.
Israel is setting up hotels to use for people who have contracted the virus and have light symptoms. This allows for the hospitals to help the sicker patients.
Hopefully this will have Israel prepared unlike Italy and Iran.
Binding” emergency regulations ordering Israelis to limit their movement and only venture outside when strictly necessary.
Going to grocery stores, pharmacies or taking shorts walks are okay.
The 7 day regulations in Israel are not to venture outside except when necessary.
Food shopping is one of those exceptions is going to a pharmacy or going outside for a walk to stretch your legs. No gatherings of more than 10 people.
People in Israel are able to get food. Supermarkets are open.
Why are some spreading lies on this site?
Lots of people dying in Italy because they did nothing at first including allowing people to keep visiting from China. Now they are forced to let people die because they have do not ample medical resources. The death tolls are staggering each day.
Hopefully Israel and the USA plus other countries will avoid the failed Italian way.
Economy in Italy is only working for mortuaries and cemeteries.
You see why I have nothing but hatred for the chinese. They are destroying lives and committing genocide in Italy and beyond. And let’s not pretend its only the evil communist regime. It is also the fault of the chinese people and their horrific cultural practices. May the chinese be cursed forever. They deserve nothing less than the devastation and destruction they have inflicted on the world. May china burn. I wish Trump were the racist that the media and democrats make him out to be so he would launch nuclear missiles at that monstrous nation.
N.J. family ravaged by coronavirus loses fourth member
https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/nj-family-ravaged-by-coronavirus-loses-fourth-member.html?ath=8d114b6cb6550d44bdda769bea353269&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter%20-%20Coronavirus&utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20Coronavirus#cmpid=nsltr_stryheadline
@ adamdalgliesh:
That’s what I think.
@ adamdalgliesh:
I don’t understand this Adam. How do they normally get their food….they go to the local supermarket. All the supermarkets have remained open, and there are far fewer people on the streets…..so why are they housebound….
Is it because the elderly have more serious reactions to infection, perhaps catch infections more easily…?? I haven’t seen these given s reasons IN ISRAEL. And I thought that penicillin or other antibiotic was a safe cure for pneumonia..I suppose because it’s viral
Israel Hayom’s health reporter ordered into isolation
Ran Reznik, health reporter for Israel Hayom, enters home isolation after being interviewed alongside a verified coronavirus carrier.
Arutz Sheva Staff, 19/03/20 05:42
Share
Ran Reznik
Ran ReznikPR photo
“Ran Reznik, the health reporter of the Israel Hayom newspaper, on Wednesday entered home isolation after being interviewed alongside a verified coronavirus carrier.
On Sunday of this week, Reznik appeared on journalist Shimon Riklin’s program on Channel 20, which also interviewed Shlomo Petrover, director of Magen David Adom’s Jerusalem district, who was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
As a result, Reznik was asked to be in isolation for a period of 14 days, which are counted as of Sunday of this week.” From today’s arutz Sheva. This is really going to help the Israeli public learn what is going on with the supposed “coronavirus pandemic.”
Israel is taking more drastic measures to (supposedly) contain coronavirus than any other country. It is also more likely to have its economy wrecked by the scare than any other country. And it is likely to be taken over by enemies of the state (the “Joint lIst” and its Jewish collaborators), while everyone’s attention is distracted by the supposed pandemic. We Jews are the most self-destructive people on Earth. May God save us from ourselves.
“Common cold
Overview
The cold is likely the most common sickness: around people in the United States come down with a billion colds annually. Most adults come down with two to three colds a year, and children even more. It usually takes people between seven and 10 days to get over a cold.
Many viruses cause the cold, which includes symptoms like runny nose, sore throat, coughing and sneezing, headaches and body aches. The most common culprit is the rhinovirus. Symptoms typically start two to three days after you’re infected.
How is it transmitted?
The cold is usually passed along when you touch a surface infected by cold viruses, or when you breathe in the virus in the air.
What’s the incubation period?
The incubation period for rhinovirus ranges from 12 hours to three days, according to Medscape.
When am I contagious?
You’re typically contagious one to two days before symptoms start, according to healthline.com.
Is there a vaccine?
No.
Is it deadly?
Most people recover from colds within seven to 10 days. But people with weakened immune systems, asthma, or other respiratory illnesses can develop serious illnesses, like bronchitis or pneumonia.”
This from an information piece from the Cleveland.com web site. (https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2020/02/how-the-coronavirus-stacks-up-against-the-common-cold-flu.html) Scientifically, the COVID-19 virus is a variety of the common cold. The common cold can be a deadly disease when it develops into bronchitis or pneumonia, which sometimes occurs, especially when people are elderly and have a “precondition” Sound familiar?
Let’s suppose, just suppose, that COVID-19 is simply a new variety of common cold, and that millions of people in the United States have contracted it and then recovered in week or two. But doctors only test for it when it develops into pneumonia. According to numerous reports in the main stream media,nearly all fatal or even serious cases of coronavirus are widely reported to be those that have developed into pneumonia.
In other words, it is perfectly possible that other varieties of common cold have just as high a mortality rate as COVID-19. Contrary to the impression created by the media, all colds are “coronaviruses.” But when someone dies or becomes seriously ill, doctors don’t test to find out if the patient has another coronavirus strain in their system. That, in turn, would mean that the “coronavirus” (COVID-19) scare is a fake.
“Who remembers the swine flu panic of 2009? Media scramble to rebut comparisons
World TribuneMarch 15, 2020
Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, March 15, 2020
Pro-Obama corporate media outlets took some time out of their effort to create panic over the coronavirus to attempt to explain why they didn’t try to create panic over the swine flu outbreak of 2009.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate, there were more than 60 million swine flu cases reported in the U.S. between April 2009 — when the disease was first detected in California — and April 2010. More than 12,000 of those infected died.
President Donald Trump tweeted on March 13: “For decades the @CDCgov looked at, and studied, its testing system, but did nothing about it. It would always be inadequate and slow for a large scale pandemic, but a pandemic would never happen, they hoped. President Obama made changes that only complicated things further…..”
Trump continued: “…. Their response to H1N1 Swine Flu was a full scale disaster, with thousands dying, and nothing meaningful done to fix the testing problem, until now. The changes have been made and testing will soon happen on a very large scale basis. All Red Tape has been cut, ready to go!”
The so-called fact checkers in the major media immediately sprung to Obama’s defense, claiming that his administration’s response to the swine flu was more than adequate.”
If these figures given here are true, it does suggest that the COVID-19 panic is an anti-Trump conspiracy, not motivated by genuine concern for public health. That’s what Dr. Ayyadurai claims.
“Coronavirus is preventing poor and needy Israelis from leaving home to get food.
help homebound israelis
ISRAEL ANNOUNCED EMERGENCY REGULATIONS DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, THE ELDERLY CANNOT LEAVE THEIR HOMES TO GET FOOD
Meir Panim’s Meals-on-Wheels program is now the ONLY way for thousands of home-bound, elderly Israelis to get a hot meal delivered to them. Many Israelis can’t go to work, which makes their financial challenges even more urgent!” From an ad for the Meir Panim charity organization. I’m sure being unable to leave their homes to shop is great for elderly Israelis’ health.
Readers might be interested in a video on Twitter by a Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, who despite his unpronounceable Indian name speaks English with an American accent. He agrees with me that the coronavirus panic is essentially a fake.
Ayyadurai has a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, whatever that is, and owns a company which researches immune-system related illnesses. He believes that the only people who die of coronavirus and most other diseases are those whose immune systems have been compromised by poor diet, lack of exercise, a polluted environment, and stress. He says the solution is healthier choices and a healthier invronment, not a new vaccine.
Unfortunately he is scatterbrained, doesn’t even bring up his main point until 20 minutes into his video, and keeps going off on tangents. He is also running for the Rpublican nomination for the Senate in Massachusetts, and keeps interrupting himself with campaign speeches and rhetoric. But if you are patient, you can learn something from him.
He is very big on Vitamin A as preventative medicine for infectious illnesses, including COVID-19.
“CORONAVIRUS ISRAEL NEWS OPINION MIDDLE EAST DIASPORA
Coronavirus: With only around 300 cases, why is Israel in near-lockdown?
Almost every aspect of the country’s crippling medical system can be understood as the coronavirus crisis unfolds.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN MARCH 17, 2020 08:37
A PASSENGER at Ben-Gurion Airport heads home to quarantine. (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
A PASSENGER at Ben-Gurion Airport heads home to quarantine.
(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
The novel coronavirus that has spread across the world, infecting more than 175,000 people, has hit the Jewish state too. But according to the Health Ministry, around 300 Israelis have COVID-19, and no one has died. So why is the government shutting the country down?
According to experts in public policy and health, the severity of the measures being taken now is because the country has let its medical system deteriorate for decades, and now it is unprepared.
“Before the outbreak of the current pandemic, hospital occupancy rates in Israel were already the highest in the developed world, while its mortality rates from infectious diseases, which doubled in the past two decades alone, are not only higher than in every other developed country, they are 73% higher than the second-ranked country,” said Prof. Dan Ben-David, president and founder of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and a faculty member at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Public Policy. “We shut the country down to deal with something that we neglected for decades.” ”
From todat’s Jerusalem Post. Interesting. In other words, Israel’s real health emergency is other infectious diseases (if this professor’s figures are correct).
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin predicted at his joint press conference with President Trump that unemployment will soon reach 25%. That would be the highest its been since 1932. The Dow Jones is down more than 1,000 in trading so far today. It is currently below 20,000. Above 29,000 only a month ago. What historian Barbara Tuchman called “the March of Folly.”
“Voluntary social distancing” will cause and probably is now causing many more deaths than the virus. Isolation and lack of social contact, for example with grandkids, causes immense stress in the elderly. And stress in the elderly is often a cause of death, even though it does not go on death certificates.